And I only am escaped alone to tell thee.

As the Pequod nears its ultimate encounter with Moby Dick, the density of portent becomes almost overwhelming for a reader. Either Ishmael knows that the mystery of omen makes for good tension-building, or he simply tends toward the side of human nature that seeks explanation in times of senseless plight — a last ditch to find meaning or purpose in suffering.

In “The Pequod meets the Delight,” the tragedy of others brings Ahab’s hubris into sharp relief. The Delight recently encountered Moby Dick and lost five men in the fray. Its whale boats are splintered, and its crew down-trodden. Much like in his encounter with the Rachel, Ahab shows that he has lost all touch of compassion, turning his back on dire human need in order to speed his course on to face the very thing that caused that need in the first place.

In the process of flying the burial of a killed member of the Delight’s crew, Queequeg’s coffin comes into view hanging from the taffrail of the Pequod. In one clear sense, we can interpret this image as portent of coming death. But for those familiar with the coffin’s ultimate significance in the story, we can see the image also as prophesy of salvation buoyed on the care shown during the dire sickness of a friend. Of course, I myself take the image as Freud himself might — sometimes a coffin is just a coffin.